Spring Greens

Spring is officially here, Easter is around the corner, and I'm feeling green. Kelly, mint, olive and emerald -- there's room for all of them at my table.

Images: 1) Elle Decor, December 2012. 2) Campagne Decoration, May/June 2010. 3) House Beautiful, March 2012. 4) House Beautiful, October 2012. 5) Country Living, May 2012. 6 & 7) Country Living, November 2012. 8) British Homes & Gardens, March 2012. 9) Flea Market Style, Winter 2012. 10) Clockwise from top left: Campagne Decoration, July/Aug 2011; House Beautiful, Dec 2012/Jan 2013; Romantic Prairie Style by Fifi O'Neill; House Beautiful, May 2010.

If I Were a Casting Director...

Eva Amurri as Loretta Young

Continuation of this post.

Laura Carmichael as Barbara Stanwyck

Olivia Wilde as Veronica Lake

Alexis Dziena as Leslie Caron

Images: Pinterest.

Film Interiors: Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky

Picking up where Coco before Chanel leaves off, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky tells of Chanel's affair with a married Stravinsky. Having worked her way out of poverty and dependence on her lovers, Chanel invites the Russian composer and his family to stay at her country house. The house is a pure reflection of Chanel's tastes and its uniform style (almost all black and white with art deco lines) is testament to her independence. When shown her bedroom, Stravinsky's wife Katarina asks Chanel if she doesn't like color. Chanel responds that she likes black. The few pieces of color are provided by Katarina's tapestries, which she drapes around her bedroom in an effort to make it feel more like home. The bedrooms are the most dramatic spaces -- I particularly love the Moorish touches in the girls' room, punctuated by banners that hang from the ceiling around the entire room.

Hallway leading to the music room.

The Stravinskys' bedroom.

Girls' room.

Coco's bedroom.

Coco's bathroom.

Music room and dining room.

Perfume factory and shop atelier.

Chanel boutique.

Images: Sony Classics.

Sleeping Nooks

My love of sleeping nooks can probably be traced back to seeing my childhood friend Jesse convert an entryway closet into her bedroom. Just big enough to hold her bed, it gave her the privacy she needed in a busy house and provided the perfect spot for us to hide from the world. A sleeping nook can be a way of carving a bedroom out of a small home. But even when square footage is no issue, a bed nook provides an embracing space to retreat to at the end of the day. I'd say it's worth the extra effort required to make up the sheets in the morning.

Images: Bright Red Hoodie. Fint. Interior Magasinet. 16 House. Apartment Therapy. Acoustic Garden. House Beautiful magazine, July/August 2012 issue. The Aestate. The Bottom of the Ironing Basket. Wicker & Stitch. Canadian House & Home.